Oh Black Caps... How Ye Flatter to Deceive

Seriously, you want this guy?  © Getty

It was a cool winters evening in New Zealand and here I was, a humble supporter tuning into the late night cricket, brimming with optimism at the prospect of chasing down a reachable 239 to achieve glorious victory at Lords.  We had come fresh of a hard fought 0-0 stalemate at home with the 'moral victory' (if such a thing counts for anything at all), the apple was ripe for the picking to give it back to the motherland at no other than the home of cricket itself.

Mere minutes later alas, it was 29-6 at lunch and I amongst the few cheering the visitors on had no choice but to cave in and choose the infinitely more comforting warmth of the bed-sheets.

What happened?

IPL6: Spot-fixing - What Next?

Disgust, Anger and even a Sense of betrayal - these are the feelings with which I write this blog post. Yet somehow the feelings of shock and surprise are missing. Anyone who believed that the game was completely clean and had no murky dealings ongoing was living in a fool's paradise. Yet, when the story of the arrests of the three players broke, it still did come as a shock. Though the shock can be attributed to the fact that all three players belonged to my favorite IPL team Rajasthan Royals.

The Heart Of The Fix

So, there we go. With the arrest of three cricketers belonging to the Rajasthan Royals team in the IPL, for the crime of spot-fixing, widespread and long time speculations of corruption in the cash rich league have been confirmed. S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan – all bowlers – were allegedly promised money ranging from US$ 36,000 to 109, 000 for conceding a specific number of runs in a particular over in three separate games. These cricketers have been charged with fraud, cheating and criminal conspiracy – a shameful list of wrongdoings which is the antithesis of sports. If proven guilty, these players are staring at the end of their careers, a considerable amount of time in prison and a lifetime of regret and guilt.

IPL6: The Middle Overs

The IPL madness is well and truly on. Only after some 30 odd game with some 40 plus (or is that 100) still remaining some fatigue has also started creeping in. So like any ODI its time for the boring middle overs. A phase which is not interesting by itself to watch but has quite a big impact going forward. The mind maybe getting a bit IPL-numb but there are still moments thrown up which will be remembered for, if not years, at least one week going forward.

Sir Jadeja - When the Indian captain knights you, you do have to live up to the reputation by coming up with something which mere mortals cant even think of. And thats what happened when Sir Jadeja was on strike with the team needing 2 runs off the last ball. Yet in dramatic circumstances (some would say very fishy), the bowler RP Singh bowls a (big) no ball which "Sir" top edges to third man who catches it while "Sir" crosses over to other end. Result - both teams found celebrating till they realise the real consequence, that Sir Jadeja ensured his team's victory off the last ball with one ball to spare (Go figure). And he turns up next match to create a (then) record for fantasy league points from a single game. And follows it up the very next game by creating a fantasy league record for the maximum negative points from a single game. Not for nothing is he Sir Jadeja.

Some Facts About Chris Gayle and number 3

Some Facts About Chris Gayle and number 3

1. Gayle's jersey number is 333.

2. His highest Test score is 333.

3. A 30-ball century is a strike rate of 333.

4. His innings was interrupted by a 33-minute rain delay.

5. His opening partner, Dilshan scored 33.

6. Gayle is 33 years old.

Views of a Chennai Super Fan – In the end, Mr Cricket is the real winner

Match: Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals in Chennai

Result: Chennai Super Kings won by 5 wickets

Narrative:

The Royals chose to bat first, and were single-handedly powered to a mammoth score by Aussie all-rounder Shane Watson, who scored a belligerent ton (also the first of IPL-6). He was particularly harsh on CSK’s new favorite, Jadeja, who cracked in his third over conceding 18 runs including two sixes and two big wides. Stuart Binny was the only other batsman who made a substantial contribution and Ashwin was the only bowler who ended with decent bowling figures. It left the Super Kings needing 186 to win the game.

The Super Kings were in control of the chase, right from the start. Despite Vijay’s failure (again), Hussey and Raina never let the required rate shoot up. Raina scored a much-needed half century with contained some trademark shots of his, while Hussey continued his rich vein of form to score a match-winning 88 from 51 balls which completely neutralized Watson’s century. Despite a late stutter, Bravo’s six in the final over bowled by Watson ensured that CSK would move right to the top of the points table.